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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. tear — from crying
  5. object — to protest
  6. cap — a hat
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — letters
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. band — a music group
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spell — magic
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — from crying
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. cap — of ice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com